This invention relates to an in line rewirable switch. In particular the present invention relates to an in line rewirable residual current ("RCD") device.
There is an increasing requirement for safety devices to be provided with electrical appliances. These safety devices can be residual current devices built into or attached to the power outlet supplying the appliance. It is however preferable that the safety devices are incorporated into the appliance itself or in the power supply cable to the appliance since the closer the safety device is to the appliance, the sooner earth leakage will be detected.
It is known to incorporate safety devices within an electrical power supply cord. Such units generally comprise a switch housing with the switch components and the terminals for connection to the two intermediate ends of the power supply cord contained within the housing. The remainder of the internal space within the housing is filled with a sealing compound to prevent against the ingress of moisture into the housing. It will be appreciated that various forms of electrical power supply cords and plugs will be required to meet the requirements of a number of countries. However, the conventional units are sealed and cannot easily be rewired to change the electrical power supply cords. The disadvantage therefore, for a manufacturer of conventional units is the need to produce a range of different units to meet the requirements of all the countries in which the units are to be sold.